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Trump spent Saturday and Sunday morning railing against Tillis and threatening to primary him, so the North Carolina Senator has announced that he will not be seeking reelection.
It’s not a hard choice, and I will not be seeking re-election,” Tillis said in a statement Sunday. He noted that he hasn’t “been excited about running for another term,” citing the choice between “spending another six years navigating the political theatre and partisan gridlock in Washington” or spending time with his family.
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Tillis outlined in in his statement that in Washington in recent years, “it’s become increasingly evident that leaders who are willing to embrace bipartisanship, compromise, and demonstrate independent thinking are becoming an endangered species.”
“It underscores the greatest form of hypocrisy in American politics,” Tillis continued. “When people see independent thinking on the other side, they cheer. But when those very same people see independent thinking coming from their side, they scorn, ostracize, and even censure them.”
North Carolina Democratic Party Chair Anderson Clayton responded to the Tillis announcement:
Thom Tillis spent years putting DC Republicans and corporate donors ahead of the people of North Carolina, and voters noticed. Today, Thom Tillis finally faced reality: this made him wildly unpopular. No matter who the NCGOP chooses as a rubber stamp to green light their extreme cuts to funding for public schools, slashes to Social Security and Medicare, and attacks against reproductive freedom, we’ll be ready to fight back.
Let’s be clear: today’s decision shows just how much influence the most fringe right-wing voices have in their primary. Our state is not a pawn in Donald Trump’s political games. We deserve leaders who will fight for affordable health care, strong public schools, and an economy that works for everyone. Over the next 18 months, we’re excited to lay out the choices voters have in this election and ensure North Carolinians see the Republican nominee for the far-right crony they will be.
We look forward to next November when North Carolinians will finally elect a senator that will actually fight for North Carolina.
The odds are high that North Carolina Republicans won’t nominate a moderate, but will be looking for an extreme Trump loyalist to please the president. This likelihood means that Democrats will have a huge opportunity to flip the Senate seat from red to blue next year.
Tillis’s decision not to run again is not the biggest surprise. There have been a lot of whispers and debate about whether or not he wanted to do another campaign. His opposition to the BBB was the final tipping point in the process.
The Republican Party is steaming toward what is likely to be a nightmare midterm election for them.
The economy is close to plunging off the cliff. Trump is the most unpopular president in the history of polling. The party is fighting among itself.
This is a prime opportunity for Democrats to start putting the Senate majority in play for 2026.
Tillis’s departure is another break that could help set up Democrats for 2026.
What do you think about Tillis not running again? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
